How’s that for timing? The Spartans take on Valparaiso on Thursday at the Palace in the NCAA tournament opener for both teams, in the busiest time of the year for basketball coaches.

Fife and the rest of the team were taking off Tuesday night for Auburn Hills, and Fife estimated he had logged two hours of sleep in the previous 36 hours. He was able to do some work at the hospital – associate head coach Dwayne Stephens is scouting Valparaiso while Fife looks ahead to possible Saturday opponent Memphis – and he was able to help deliver Reagan.

“I had a leg in one hand and a phone in the other hand,” Fife quipped. “I was talking to (Izzo) at one point, talking to my dad. I got a lot done.”

The couple also has a 3-year-old daughter, Quinnly, and she may be able to attend MSU’s game with Fife’s parents, who live in nearby Clarkston. Mother and baby probably won’t make it.

“Thank God for Skype,” Fife said.

Contact Joe Rexrode: 313-222-2625 or jrexrode@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @joerexrode. Check out his MSU blog at freep.com/heyjoe.

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